Digital video recorders (DVRs) and personal video recorders (PVRs) allow viewers to record video in a digital format to a disk drive or other type of storage medium for later playback. DVRs are often incorporated into set-top boxes for satellite and cable television services. A television program stored on a set-top box allows a viewer to perform time shifting functions, and may additionally allow a viewer to skip over commercial breaks and other portions of the recording that the viewer does not desire to watch. However, the user performs this function manually, for example, using a fast forward button of a remote control associated with the DVR. This manual fast forwarding is an inconvenience for the user. Further, manual fast forwarding by a user often leads to inaccurate results, because the user may fast forward past portions of the recording they desire to watch, or may resume playback during the portion of the recording that they want to skip over. Additionally, when users are watching recorded television programs and other video content, they are unaware of the location and duration of commercial breaks and other content of which the user may not desire to watch. This makes it difficult and inconvenient for users to skip over the content they do not desire to view, or for the user to step away from the television momentarily (e.g., during a commercial break) without potentially missing content that they want to view (e.g., segments of the show).